Saturday, April 30, 2011

Red-breasted Mergansers and Other Cape Cod Ducks

These pictures were taken on my birthday weekend, back at the end of March. I went down to see my parents on Cape Cod and my two birthday requests were:

1. I want to go Charlie's Place in Wareham for dinner. I've been going to Charlie's since I was a little kid and I have a lot of fond memories there. We're friendly with the owner, the prices are cheap, and their pepper & onion pizza is my absolute favorite.

2. I want to go birding. So, my parents took me to Bourne Farm in West Falmouth, and then later in the day I went for a walk on the Cape Cod Canal with my mom and my Aunt Marylou.

Here are the duck pictures from the Canal.

Red-breasted Merganser:

Female Red-breasted Merganser:

Common Eider Flock:I really enjoyed our earlier walk at Bourne Farm. There are walking, biking and horseback riding trails there that feature cranberry bogs, ponds, and an old herring run. Too bad I couldn't get very close to the ducks there since they were in the middle of the ponds. I saw buffleheads and ring-necked ducks.

Ring-necked Duck:

Old house foundation we came upon in the middle of the woods. You can see the chimney to the left and the stairs in the middle.

This is called the "Cattle Tunnel." How in the world can cattle fit through here?? It's very low, and I hit my head misjudging just how low the ceiling was.

Great birthday weekend! Glad I finally got around to posting these pictures because I have some Mt. Auburn cemetery warbler photos I just took today that I can't wait to post.